By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -

COLUMBUS, Ohio — After finishing off a remarkable 50-day run, the Ohio State Buckeyes can enjoy a nine-day break knowing that no matter what else happens, they are Big Ten men’s basketball champions and the No. 1 seed for the Big Ten Tournament.

With a 73-57 victory over Illinois on Tuesday, No. 6 Ohio State ended its regular season at 24-7 and 14-4 in conference play. Purdue and Michigan State, both with two games to play, can tie the Buckeyes for the Big Ten title, but Ohio State will retain the top seed in any tiebreaker. On Jan. 12, the Buckeyes were 1-3 in the Big Ten and trailing at Purdue, but their comeback win that night started a 13-1 sprint to end the conference season that culminated against the Illini, as fans rushed the court after the victory to celebrate a championship.

Video of Buckeyes cutting down the net

“It felt like you could finally live out one of those moments that they show you when you get recruited here,” OSU junior Evan Turner said, holding the Big Ten trophy in his lap at the postgame news conference.

“They show you video of everybody on the floor celebrating, all happy. That was cool. On ESPN we always see everybody rush the court. Dallas [Lauderdale] and I were talking — ‘Man, nobody ever rushes the court here.’ We said we’d have to give them a reason to rush the court. . . . It’s a great accomplishment. It’s great. But it’s not over yet. We’ve got a couple of more trophies to worry about.”

Jon Diebler, after making just 3 of 17 3-pointers in his previous two games, led the way with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from 3-point range. William Buford had 17 points and seven rebounds, while David Lighty scored 15 points and played great defense, diving out of bounds to save a play for the Buckeyes as Illinois tried to rally late. Turner, likely playing his last home game before heading to the NBA, struggled at times but scored 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting and added 12 rebounds and five assists.

It is the third Big Ten title in the past five seasons for the Buckeyes, all with vastly different rosters. After the veteran Terence Dials and Je’Kel Foster team of 2006 gave way to the freshmen-led 2007 Final Four team of Greg Oden and Mike Conley, OSU coach Thad Matta rebuilt his team again behind the junior class of Turner, Diebler and Dallas Lauderdale.

In an alternate universe, Tuesday night would have been an emotional farewell to seniors Oden, Conley, Daequan Cook and Lighty. But Oden, Conley and Cook are all in their third NBA seasons, while Lighty will return as a fifth-year senior after redshirting with a broken foot last season.

This roster was enough.

The Illini (18-12, 10-7 Big Ten) pushed the Buckeyes……

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